Remember a chat with my father about ditching. He flew fighters from 38 to 45 and said that the radiator on the Spitfire touched first and the water it disturbed tended to kick the tail up and drive the nose down. He watched Finucane ditching with a bad outcome. They decided that possibly the best way would be to boot the rudder hard just before touching and try to use the dihedral to skate to a halt. Luckilly he never had to try the idea.